Several young entrepreneurs discuss their most strategic decision at their startup. Etosha Cave, co-founder and chief science officer at Opus 12, says pivoting toward a smaller market allowed her venture to prove its technology while bringing in revenue. Jonah Greenberger, co-founder of solar-energy startup Bright, explains how choosing the right co-founder was his best business decision. They speak with STVP Faculty Co-Director Tina Seelig.

Alumni of entrepreneurship-education fellowships offered through the Stanford Technology Ventures Program reflect on the work culture at their startups. Virtual-reality engineer Cody Karutz talks about how STRIVR Labs, which uses VR to train athletes, is user-centric because it has recruited actual players to help build its products. Jonah Greenberger, co-founder at Bright, describes how culture within his solar-energy startup became solution oriented.

Bright Co-Founder Jonah Greenberger explains how taking a job at a large corporation before launching his solar-energy startup provided valuable industry experience and insights into how initiatives are executed at scale. Before Bright, he directed Chevron Energy Solutions, and appeared as part of a panel moderated by Tina Seelig, professor of the practice in Stanford University’s Department of Management Science & Engineering.

A panel of Stanford alumni who have gone on to entrepreneurial careers tell STVP Faculty Co-Director Tina Seelig what leadership means to them. Some of the most important traits identified by the panelists include taking responsibility for actions and consequences, leading by example and empowering others through trust, and being able to let go and depend on your team.

Jonah Greenberger, co-founder of Bright, a solar-energy startup that delivers subscriptions to homes in developing countries, shares advice he learned from “The Power of Habit,” a book by Charles Duhigg that posits how things people always do seem easy, while things we rarely do seem difficult. Greenberger says the more you fail, the more comfortable failure becomes, making it easier to recover and try again.

A panel of Stanford alumni who have gone on to entrepreneurial careers reflect on their biggest surprises in the startup world. From left to right, the panel includes moderator and STVP Faculty Co-Director Tina Seelig, virtual-reality engineer Cody Karutz, med-tech entrepreneur Elaine Cheung, Etosha Cave, chief science officer at Opus 12, and Jonah Greenberger, co-founder of solar-energy startup Bright.

A panel of Stanford alumni who have gone on to entrepreneurial careers describe what success looks like for each of their startups. In conversation with Stanford Professor of the Practice Tina Seelig, the panelists talk about celebrating everyday victories instead of holding out for a singular end goal, but also striving for major impacts like reducing greenhouse gases, improving cancer detection and innovating the way athletes practice.